Mama, does the bogeyman ever get lonely?
by LadyEpic101
Summary: Dorothy, or Dolly as everyone calls her, is on the cusp of her eighteenth birthday. Despite being told that it was time to grow up, she refused to leave behind her belief in Santa, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, even the bogeyman. Suddenly, she is pulled into their world, where she meets Jack Frost and has to face an old friend (Terrible summary) (Jack x OC x Pitch)
1. Prologue to a Nightmare

"Then, he comes out from under your bed and..."

"And what?"

"And…"

"What, what does he do?"

"He...GRABS YOU!"

The little girl screamed and ran out of her older brother's room. He threw his head back and laughed. Who doesn't love to torment siblings utterly terrified every now and then? Now that he had told Dolly about the bogeyman, he'd have ammunition for years to come.

"Mama, does the bogeyman ever get lonely?"

The woman looked down at her daughter curiously. She finished tucking the girl into bed while she thought of a reply. Both of them had the same long, strawberry blonde hair and green eyes.

"What made you think that?" Mama sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Well," Dolly looked at her pillow shyly, "Ben told me that he lives under people's beds, and no one else lives under people's beds, so he can't have any friends,"

Mama smiled at that sweet, innocent, ridiculous reasoning that only children could have.

"I guess you're right. He must be very lonely,"

"Can we invite him to a play date?" She sat up in sudden excitement, ruining the perfect blanket tuck.

"Well, you know the bogeyman is very busy, so he might not have the time-" Dolly's smile fell, "-But maybe we can leave him a treat, so that he knows someone wants to be his friend?"

Dolly liked this idea very much. She insisted that they use some of her own week-old Halloween candy. Mama would do anything at that point to get her to go to bed, so she allowed the little girl to spend ten minutes trying to decide whether the bogeyman liked chocolate or skittles. At last, she decided to leave both.

"Goodnight, Dolly,"

"Goodnight Mama," the door closed. Dolly leaned over the edge of her bed, so that the top of her head almost touched the floor, "Goodnight, bogeyman,"

Every night, Dolly would repeat this little ritual. She imagined how happy he would be to finally have a friend, and a friend that gives him their candy! Dolly didn't even share her candy with her best friend across the street. When she ran out of candy, she left toys, drawings, pretty rocks she found, twigs wrapped in ribbon, anything. Some nights, she couldn't sleep until she knew for certain that the bogeyman had a gift waiting for him.

One night, she decided to stay up and wait for him to show. After Mama left the room, Dolly burrowed under her covers and poked her head out of the side. For half an hour, she intently watched the shadows peeking out from beneath her bed.

"You know, I think I like the darker chocolates the best,"

Gasping, Dolly whipped around, wrapping her sheets and blanket around her. A tall, thin man was silhouetted in the light of the moon.

"You came!" Dolly whisper-shouted. She untangled herself from her blankets and scrambled off her bed. Before he could do anything to stop her, she hugged him.

Pitch stared down in disbelief. She could...touch him?

"I'm Dorothy but everyone calls me Dolly," she grinned a gap-toothed grin up at him, "I can't play right now, 'cause it's night-time. But you can still read me a bedtime story!" Remembering her manners, she added: "Please?"

"I…very well. Pick out a story and I shall read it to you," Pitch composed himself. The child believed in him, that was all that mattered.

Dolly came back with a large storybook. She wrapped herself back up in blankets and looked at the shadowy man expectantly. Pitch sighed and sat down on the bed. The things he had to do to survive.

"Once upon a time, in a land far, far away…"


	2. Belief is a powerful thing

"It's almost Halloween!"

"It's literally not even Easter," Ben rolled his eyes.

Despite her brother's best attempt to rain on her parade, Dolly babbled on excitedly about the candy, and the costumes, and most of all:

"The spooky scaries!"

That was what she had taken to calling anything supernatural and frightening in nature. Ever since she was little, Dolly hadn't been as afraid of things as she should have been. In fact, she actively sought out horror. Movies, books, urban legends, whatever she could find that even had a hint of fear to it. She never knew why, but fear exhilarated her, made her feel alive.

"You know you're too old for that now, right?"

"Too old for what?" Dolly's excitement ground to a halt.

"Trick or treating. You're almost an adult. You have to grow up some time," as harsh as it sounded, Ben only had the best intentions. The world wouldn't let his sister be a child forever.

"Oh, I guess you're right," she frowned.

It seemed like year after year, the little things that made the world magic were slipping away. Before Halloween it was Christmas, when her family had made fun of her for still believing in Santa (they were only teasing, or so they said), before that was the first Easter she wasn't allowed to color eggs, even before that was when she had run out of baby teeth to lose and had to wave goodbye to the Tooth Fairy.

And before that, the bogeyman.

"Ooh, you stashed away some candy for us!" The tween reached her arm as far under the bed as she could.

"Hey, that's not for you!" Dolly shouted at her best friend, Grace.

"Come on, don't be selfish. I'm your guest," when she didn't feel any other sweets, she sat back and pouted.

"But that's not for you," Dolly insisted.

"Then who's it for, the bogeyman?"

Dolly crossed her arms, a bit embarrassed by the way Grace said it.

"Oh my gosh, you still believe in the bogeyman? Get real, Dorothy. You're twelve now, believing in stories like that is immature," Grace, the expert on maturity, scoffed.

Unable to fight against that sound logic, Dolly let Grace eat the tiny box of Nerds. After a good old fashioned makeover, pillow fight, and talking about boys, Grace retired to her sleeping bag and Dolly laid down on her bed. In the dead of the night, she was awoken by screaming.

"Grace, Grace are you okay?" Dolly scrambled for her flashlight. When she finally flicked it on and waved it about the room, her friend was nowhere to be seen.

"Grace, where are you?"

Mama burst into the room. She took a half second to glance at her daughter before diving under the bed and yanking a screaming and crying Grace free.

Grace claimed that she had been pulled under the bed by a shadow. Mama reasoned that she was just having a nightmare and accidentally rolled under the bed. Whatever had happened, Grace's mom sped over and picked her up. The two never had a sleepover again. In fact, no one ever had a sleepover with Dolly again. They started to avoid her. But, that was okay. She only felt lonely in the light. The shadows embraced her like an old friend. Whenever she could, she'd sit and read in a dark corner, or under a tree while everyone else was playing or talking to their friends. They branded her a weirdo, so Dolly embraced it. She began to wear black to blend in with her favorite spots, and it worked sometimes. People would jump and scream when they finally noticed her sitting there.

Dolly shook free of the memory. Pulling on a beanie to keep her head warm, she opened the door and walked into a world bathed in white. A small smile pulled across her face. It was a snow day! She opened the door and dropped her backpack in the house. A whole day to herself. Some of the younger neighborhood kids were engrossed in a snowball fight. Dolly turned away from him and made her way towards the woods.

It was one of the places she didn't feel alone. Despite the eerie silence and lack of life in this late snow, Dolly felt safe. Her mind wandered, seeing fantastically terrifying shapes in the trees. She imagined some terrible beast lurking in the shadows, waiting to pounce.

And that's why she let out a scream when something collided with her back.

"Sorry-Sorry! Are you okay?" Someone asked from above her.

"Yeah I'm alright," Dolly lifted her head and wiped the snow off of her face, she twisted around to see who had run into her, "Are you…"

She trailed off. Looking down at her with wide, blue eyes was a boy about her age wearing an equally blue hoodie. His skin was pale, and his hair was stark white. He grinned apologetically and helped her up.

"Yeah, I'm alright," he answered her unasked question.

"Good, good. Where'd you come from, anyway? I didn't see or hear you," she smiled at him. He was pretty cute.

"Wait a minute," he wrinkled his nose in confusion, "You can see me?"

"Of course I can," she laughed, "I'm Dorothy, but everyone calls me Dolly. What's your name?"

Still in shock, he replied, "Jack Frost,"

"No way, now I know you're messing with me," she laughed again, "You mean like the guy who makes the patterns with ice on windows and stuff?"

He smiled wanly.

"Prove it."

Jack smirked. He stomped down on the end of a stick that was poking out of the snow, freeing it and revealing it to be a tall staff with a hooked end. He twirled it in his hand before tapping it against the trunk of a tree. Beautiful designs frosted over the bark. Dolly gaped at the sight.

"You, you really are…"

He smiled, resting his staff in the crook of his elbow.

"You're real!" She ran up and grabbed his hands in her own.

"I'm real," he repeated quietly, "I'm real!"

He swung her around, laughing excitedly. Dolly laughed right along with him. If Jack Frost was real, then that meant…  
"Is.. is everyone else…"

"Yeah, all of them!" He stopped their revolution, "North, Bunny, Tooth, even Sandy," he looked down in thought for a moment, "I have something to show you, but I have to ask a question first,"

"Sure, anything," her brow wrinkled at the apprehension in his voice.

"Do you trust me?"

Without a moment's hesitation, Dolly nodded.

"Hold on tight, then."

A powerful gust of wind wrapped around them. Dolly grabbed onto Jack's arm as they were lifted up into the sky. Faster than she had ever imagined, they flew over the woods, through the blistering cold air. Jack whooped in excitement, angling downwards. Dolly shut her eyes tight. They were going to slam straight into a tree, she knew it! She should have known better than to trust some stranger claiming to be straight out of legend.

"You can open your eyes now."

She did, and gasped at the sight. They were in the tallest tree in the whole forest, looking out towards the town. The trees glimmered with dazzling snow, above them stretched the clear blue sky. It was beautiful. Jack was holding onto her shoulder to keep her steady.

"Woah," she gasped.

"I know," he smiled. He still couldn't believe that someone believed in him.

"Wait, you said the Easter bunny was real, right?" Dolly looked up at him.

"Oh he's real, alright. Real annoying, real grumpy, and really full of himself,"

"What about Santa, and the Tooth fairy?"

Jack spent hours telling her about the other spirits. What they were like, how he had met them, the stunts he had pulled that he found hilarious and they didn't.

"So, if they're not big fans of you, who do you hang out with?" Dolly tilted her head. They were sitting on a lower branch now.

Jack became quiet for a moment, looking up at the moon.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"No, no it's okay. I've pretty much been on my own up until now. You're the first person to ever be able to see me, let alone touch me,"

"I guess I understand how you feel," it was her turn to look up at the moon sadly, "I never really had many friends either. People just think I'm weird, or crazy,"

"You are weird and crazy," Jack hopped up, smirking "No normal, sane person would spend all day at the top of a tree with someone they just met,"

"I guess you're right," the sorrow melted off of her face.

"It's getting late. Let's get you home, Doll."

They flew together once more, just to the edge of the woods.

"When can I see you again?" Dorothy asked as they landed gently on the powdery snow.

"Whenever you want," he shrugged.

"Tomorrow morning, by the lake?"

"Sure- say, have you ever been to Paris?"

"No, why?"

Jack had a mischievous look in his eye.

"No reason."

Jack wandered along the powerlines, coating them in a thin layer of ice. Today was wild, and quite possibly the best day he had had in the past century. He had a believer. A _believer_. It still sounded strange to him. He remembered how excited she was when she realized that he was _the_ Jack Frost. He smiled. A stream of golden sand drifted in front of him. He turned to find more streams drifting down from the sky.

"Right on time, Sandman."

Dolly lay sleeping peacefully under her blanket. A golden dream swirled above her head. A dream of flying on the wind, a dream of laughing and smiling.

A dark chuckle resonated through her room; she didn't stir.

"Oh, my dear Dolly," a tall, gray man stepped out from the shadows, "It really has been too long," he leaned over her, "My, how you've grown. And what a sweet little dream. All it's missing is a touch of fear," he chuckled and tapped the sand.

What had once been gold withered and turned black. Dorothy wrinkled her nose.

"Feel your fear. Come on, come on, that's right," the sand swirled behind his neck, "You always had the prettiest _nightmares_ ," he held the creature in his hands. It resembled an almost demonic horse.

"Now, I want you to got tell the others: the wait is over."


	3. Old friends

"But none of them believe in you, do they? You see, you're invisible mate. It's like you don't even exist,"

"Bunny!"

"No," Jack shook his head, "You're wrong. Someone does believe in me,"

"Yeah, sure. What's their name?" Bunny scoffed.

"Her name, kangaroo, is Doll,"

"What did you call me? I'm not a kangaroo, mate,"

"And this whole time I thought you were. If you're not a kangaroo, what are you?"

"I'm a bunny. The Easter bunny. People believe in me,"

"Like I said, people believe in me, too."

Sandy and North looked at each other.

"Jack, you say you have believer," North shouldered Bunny aside, earning a "Watch it, mate!"

"Yeah, what's so strange about that?" Frost looked around the room, a bit offended at their disbelief.

"Hm. May be nothing, may be very bad. When Man in Moon choose you as guardian," he turned and started walking down a hall. Jack had to choose between staying with the angry kangaroo, or following.

"He show vision before. He tell us that Pitch Black return, and something else,"

"What does that have to do with Doll?" Jack asked a bit too intensely. He wasn't about to lose the one person who could see him so soon.

"As I was saying, he show vision of someone running, then being grabbed by hand and by sand. This tears the person apart,"

"So me and Sandy are going to fight over her? No offense to the little guy but-"  
"Jack!" North rounded on him, "Is very serious! Girl could be in grave danger,"

"Pitch," Jack muttered under his breath, "What could he want with her? I have to go get her!"

"No, we are not finished talking. Bunny will get her,"

"She's my believer, I-"

"Already on it, mate!" Bunny called as he disappeared through the hole. A small pink flower was left in the middle of a rug.

* * *

Maybe she had imagined it all. The stick she had been using to trace designs in the snow snapped, leaving half of it in her hand and half of it buried in the cold powder. Dorothy sighed. It was true. She had finally gone crazy. Standing, she wiped the snow off of her thick leggings. How could she have even believed any of it happened in the first place? Everyone else was right. She was too old for these childish beliefs.

"You Dolly?" A voice with a heavy Australian accent asked behind her.

She turned around and saw a man-sized bunny.

"Um, yes?" Okay, seriously crazy now.

"I'm Bunny, and I'm here to take you to the North Pole."

* * *

"Oh my gosh you're all really here!" Dolly jumped up and down with excitement, "The Tooth Fairy!"

"Hi," Toothiana waved with an unsure grin.

"The Sandman!"

Sandy smiled.

"And you're really the Easter bunny!"

He rolled his eyes, but couldn't help the small smile that tugged at his lips.

"Where's- Santa!"

"Ah, you must be Dolly," he smiled jollily.

"What am I, chopped liver?" The white-haired teen piped up from his seat on the globe's control panel.

"Jack!"

She ran over and wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace. After a second, Jack returned the hug.

"Yes, yes, very touching reunion," North laughed.

"Oh man, this is so cool! Uh, literally. Jack,"

He looked down, realizing that a layer of frost was starting to creep over where they touched.

"Sorry," he laughed, letting go and ruffling the hair on the back of his head.

"Hate to interrupt this lovely moment, but I think there's a problem," Bunny interrupted.

Everyone looked to Toothiana, who was listening to a panting fairy with a look of horror on her face.

"Oh no, oh no, no! He's attacking the palace!" She flew out of the window and was gone from sight in a heartbeat.

"What's going on?" Dolly looked around.

"Trouble at the Tooth Palace!"

* * *

Sandy, Bunny, Jack, and Dolly followed North to his sleigh.

"What is wrong with you guys? There is no way we're climbing into some rickety old-"

Jack paused as Dolly ran past him, screaming in delight.

"Sleigh?"

Three pairs of massive reindeer dragged the sleigh into sight. It was bright red, and far from what he had imagined. It looked as high-tech as anything he'd ever seen. Dolly had already climbed in and snapped on a pair of goggles that North handed her. Jack laughed. They made her look like a bug.

"Okay, one ride, but that's it," Jack hopped in, sitting next to Dolly.

"Everyone loves the sleigh,"

"Hey," Jack leaned close to her while Bunny and North argued about something, "Sorry I couldn't take you to Paris today. I was thrown in a sack, then tossed through a magic portal,"

"You know, I wouldn't believe that excuse coming from anyone but you," she flashed a dazzling grin at him.

Sandy sat above them, and Bunny was tossed in.

"Buckle up!" North called back to them.

"Woah-woah-woah! Where are the bloody seatbelts?"

"Hah, that was just expression. Are we ready? Good, let's go!"

The sleigh took off suddenly, knocking Dolly into Jack. He wrapped one arm around her, holding his staff in that hand to completely encircle her. With the other, he grabbed the side of the sleigh. Both of them marveled at the ice caves as they rushed by, shouting with joy as north guided the sleigh through a loop-de-loop. Finally, they launched off of a wooden ramp and were airborne.

Once their flight had straightened out, Jack let go. Dolly blushed, realizing that he had been holding her for quite a while.

"Watch this, Doll," Jack whispered to her before jumping onto the back of the sleigh, "Hey Bunny, check out this view- Aaahh!" Jack yelled as the wind swept him away.

"North! North!" The rabbit shouted, nervously looking over the edge.

"Aw, you do care," Jack was laying back on one of the runners.

"Oh, rack off, you bloody show pony!" Bunny sat back down.

Jack floated into the sleigh.

"Hold on everyone, I know a shortcut!" North pulled a snow globe out of his pocket.

Bunny looked like he regretted ever coming to the Pole.

North threw the globe ahead of the sleigh, where it warped and grew into a portal. Suddenly, they were flying above a beautiful range of mountains and cliffs. What looked like streams of shadows raced towards them.

"What?" Dolly sat up and pulled off her goggles.

She was knocked down to the floor of the sleigh as hundreds of little black horses raced by them.

"They're taking the tooth fairies!" Jack shouted, hopping out of the sleigh. He came back, holding something in his hands, "Hey little Baby Tooth, you okay?"

An affirmative chirp responded.

North guided the reindeer through a hole in one of the mountains, chasing after one of the horses.

"Here, take over," he handed the reins to Dolly.

"Wait, I don't know how-"

"Come on, we can do this together," Jack was right behind her, wrapping his hands over hers.

They snapped the reins, causing the reindeer to increase their pace. North slashed his sword through the midnight black horse, causing it to burst into sand.

"They're stealing the teeth!" Bunny shouted, lifting a golden container.

Some of the black sand had landed on Sandy's arm. What in the world was it made of?

"Jack, Dolly, down!"

The sleigh landed roughly on a wide pink platform.

"Is everyone okay?" Dolly looked around. They were all still in one piece.

A terrified gasp and the sound of wings beating above them prompted everyone to look up.

"Tooth! Are you alright?"

"Oh, they took my fairies, and the teeth- all of them!" She slowly lowered to a platform. North, Bunny, and Sandy surrounded her, "Everything is gone… everything,"

Baby Tooth peaked out from between Jack and Dolly. She darted up to where the others were gathered.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Tooth gasped, "One of you is alright."

"I have to say," a rich, deep voice sounded from everywhere and nowhere all at once, "This is very, very exciting. The big four, all in one place!" Now it sounded like the voice was coming from just above them.

"I'm a little starstruck." Pitch looked down upon them.

Dolly's jaw dropped. Who was Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome? He looked familiar, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Did you like my show on the globe, North?" He held his hands behind his back, "Got you all together, didn't I?" He teased, walking around the smaller platform.

"Pitch!" Tooth shouted, flying after him, "You have got thirty seconds to return my fairies-" he was gone.

"Or what? You'll stick a quarter under my pillow?" He reappeared farther away, arms raised in mock-terror.

"Why are you doing this?" North pointed his sword at the man, now named as Pitch.

"Maybe I want what you have," he pointed an accusatory finger at the Guardian, "To be believed in," his shadow stretched down to another platform and he appeared there, "Maybe I'm tired of hiding under beds!"

Dolly couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Wait, hiding under beds? That sounded familiar.

"Maybe that's where you belong!" Bunny shot back at him.

Pitch scoffed, appearing underneath the platform.

"Go suck an egg, rabbit," he disappeared into the shadows before Bunny could grab him.

"Hang on- is that Jack Frost? And… Dolly?" Pitch chuckled, "Since when are you all so chummy?"

"We're not," Jack muttered, raising his staff and trying to keep Dolly behind him.

"Oh good, a neutral party," Pitch was leaning on a large lattice, resting his cheek on his hand, "Then I'm going to ignore you, but you must be used to that by now. But Dolly,"

He disappeared, and then he was right behind her.

"How did you get here? Don't tell me you came with them,"

She whipped around and stared up at him. His eyes were gorgeous; they looked like a solar eclipse, flashing silver and gold.

"Get away from her!" Jack charged at them.

Dolly started turning to look back at him, but Pitch placed a hand on her shoulder and they dropped into the shadows, popping back up even farther away.

"How are you, old friend?" Pitch smiled, but it faltered when no hint of recognition crossed her face, "Do you not remember me? Really?"

Tooth yelled, flying at them as fast as her wings could manage. A black horse reared up in front of Pitch and Dolly, forcing her back.

"Wo-o-oah! Hey, easy girl, easy," Pitch soothed the creature. It came to stand in front of Dolly, blocking her from view.

Pitch held out the black sand on his hand, "Look familiar, Sandman? It took me a while to perfect this little trick. Turning dreams into Nightmares," he stroked the mare's neck.

The Guardians backed away. This, this was more than they were prepared for.

"Don't be nervous. It only riles them up more. They smell fear, you know,"

"Hah! What fear? Fear of you? No one's been afraid of you since the Dark Ages!" Bunny grabbed his boomerang back from Tooth.

"Oh, the Dark Ages," Pitch sighed nostalgically, "Everyone frightened, miserable! Such happy times for me, all the power I wielded," his tone quickly turned to disgust, "But then the Man in the Moon chose you to replace my fear with your wonder and light. Lifting their hearts and giving them _hope_!" Something brushed Dolly's arm. She turned with a start. Another Nightmare was staring her in the face. It tossed its head.

"Do you want me to get on?" She whispered.

It whinnied.

"Meanwhile everyone wrote me off as just a bad dream. 'Oh there's nothing to be afraid of, there's no such thing as 'The Bogeyman'!'"

Oh. She remembered now. The gifts she left under her bed. The stories read to her in that soothing, raspy voice.

"Well that's all about to change. Oh look, it's happening already."

All around them, the Tooth Palace was crumbling. Turning into dust. The second Nightmare nudged her arm again. Dolly pulled herself onto its back uncertainly.

"What is?" Jack glanced around nervously.

"All around the world, children are waking up, and realizing that the Tooth Fairy never came. It's such a little thing, but to a child,"

"What's going on?" Jack asked again.

"They… they don't believe in me anymore," Tooth's voice trembled.

"Didn't they tell you, Jack? It's great being a Guardian, but there's a catch," his voice trailed off into a whisper, "If enough kids stop believing, everything your friends protect: wonder, hopes, and dreams, it all goes away. And little by little, so do they," he chuckled, "No Christmas, or Easter, or little fairies that come in the night. There will be nothing but fear and darkness, and me. It's your turn not to be believed in."

Bunny threw his boomerang, unable to take any more of Pitch's taunting. The Nightmare King climbed onto his steed and flew off, followed by Dolly on hers. The Guardians all followed, Bunny preparing to toss explosive eggs.

"Wait, you might hit the girl!" North shouted.

"Doll!" Jack raced ahead of everyone else.

"Jack!" She shouted, reaching back for him.

Then she disappeared through a crack in the wall, and there wasn't a thing they could do to get her back.


End file.
